Swiss socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein died suddenly on New Year’s Eve at age 84.
Jocelyn, nicknamed Catwoman because she reportedly underwent many facial cosmetic procedures in hopes of looking like a cat, died in Paris of a pulmonary embolism while taking a nap.
She came from humble beginnings, but became one of the richest people on the planet following her divorce from French-born American billionaire Alec Wildenstein, whom she married in the 1970s.
The couple had two children named Diane and Alec Jr, who lead relatively private lives.
However, Alec Jr has made headlines in recent years after he was found guilty of tax evasion in March 2024 and received a two-year suspended prison sentence.
In November 2023, Jocelyn shared an undated snap in which she was seen holding Diane and Alec Jr when they were toddlers.
Swiss socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein died suddenly on New Year’s Eve at age 84, leaving behind her daughter Diane and son Alec Jr.
In November 2023, Jocelyn shared an undated snap in which she was seen holding Diane and Alec Jr when they were toddlers.
“My daughter Diane and my son Alec Jr, my personal family photos ,” he wrote beneath the snap, which showed Jocelyn before her dramatic transformation.
Jocelyn developed an interest in hunting and wildlife, which led her to the Wildenstein family ranch, Ol Jogi, located in Kenya. There, Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi arms dealer, introduced her on safari to her ex-husband Alec Sr.
In adulthood, the couple’s son, Alec Jr, went on to run Ol Jogi, and Jocelyn shared a memory of him in September 2023.
“The Wildenstein dynasty,” he wrote. ‘My son Alec Jr #oljogi.’
Alec Jr came under fire in 2016 when he became embroiled in a tax evasion court case alongside his uncle Guy Wildenstein.
Both were accused of hiding the Wildenstein family fortune in an offshore tax shelter.
Alec Sr’s brother Guy, also an art dealer, was acquitted after trials in 2017 and 2018 when judges ruled that since his father, Daniel, and older brother had died, he was not legally required to declare their assets. abroad.
But in 2014 the high court canceled those exonerations and Guy faced a new trial. His brother Alec Sr’s son, Alec Jr, was a co-defendant in the case, along with his widow, Liouba Stoupakova. Guy was found guilty in March 2024 and sentenced to four years in prison, of which two were suspended and he was allowed to serve the other two at home.
Jocelyn had two children with her ex-husband Alec Wildenstein, named Diane and Alec Jr, who lead relatively private lives.
Jocelyn came from humble beginnings, but became one of the richest people on the planet after her divorce from French-born American billionaire called Alec Wildenstein (pictured), whom she married in the 1970s.
In adulthood, the couple’s son, Alec Jr, ran the Kenyan Wildenstein family ranch, Ol Jogi, and Jocelyn shared a memory of him in September 2023.
“The Wildenstein dynasty,” he wrote. ‘My son Alec Jr #oljogi’
Meanwhile, Alec Jr received a two-year suspended sentence and a €37,500 fine.
Guy’s son David spoke to Tatler in 2016 and revealed that he and Alec Jr were very close, having been born just six months apart and growing up together.
“We’re like brothers,” David said. ‘The bond in the family is between him and me. We did a lot of things together, we got into a lot of trouble together (when we were kids). We’re very similar in terms of how we think.’
David went on to add that Alec “loves nature” and “he really likes flying, he’s an amazing pilot.”
Meanwhile, Diane, Jocelyn and Alec Sr’s daughter, leads an even more private life.
Diane lives in London and breeds horses, in line with another of the Wildenstein family businesses, The times reported.
However, unlike Alec Jr and his cousin, Diane was the eldest of the children on both sides and was not close to her cousins due to the age difference, David said.
Jocelyn previously revealed that both Diane and Alec Jr were separated from her.
Alec Jr came under fire in 2016 when he was involved in a tax evasion court case alongside his uncle Guy Wildenstein (pictured together in court)
Meanwhile, Jocelyn and Alec Sr’s daughter Diane leads an even more private life, living in London, where she raises horses.
Jocelyn previously revealed that both Diane and Alec Jr were separated from her (pictured in 1998)
Of her encounter with her ex-husband Alec Sr, Jocelyn recalled how he decided to kill a lion that had been killing a nearby antelope, so she accompanied him on a pre-dawn mission.
She told how, after her future husband took down the lion with a single shot, plus a second for good measure, they ate part of the animal as a kind of trophy and rubbed its blood on their necks.
“You have to eat a part of the heart of your game,” he said. ‘He’s a legend. Perhaps to take the power of the lion.
Alec previously commented on Jocelyn’s dramatic transformation. She told Vanity Fair: “I was crazy.” I would always find out in the end. I was thinking I could fix his face like it was a piece of furniture. Skin doesn’t work that way. But she didn’t want to listen.
Jocelyn responded by saying she “hired a publicist and paid a plastic surgeon to certify that I had completely changed my face” to win the divorce, she claimed.
After years of excessive spending and seemingly endless cosmetic procedures, Alec filed for divorce in 1999, although Jocelyn has said that she was the first to decide to end the marriage due to her husband’s infidelities.
Jocelyn became one of the richest people on the planet after her divorce settlement, which left her with over $2 billion and millions more a year.
Jocelyne became one of the richest people on the planet after her divorce settlement, which left her with over $2 billion and millions more a year (pictured in 2022).
But somehow she managed to lose it all after years of retouching her face and spending on countless luxuries.
The star, whose real name is Jocelyn Périsset, was taking a nap in a Parisian palace at the time of her death on Tuesday, Paris Match reported..
“Her partner Lloyd Klein is sad to announce the death of Jocelyne Wildenstein in Paris,” AFP shared.
She was last seen looking healthy on December 18 in Paris when she was with Klein.
The star smiled at viewers while wearing a leather jacket, leggings and boots while wearing black sunglasses and her blonde hair in soft waves over her shoulders.
She was nicknamed Catwoman due to her pronounced cat eyes and leonine features, had over a million followers on Instagram, and described herself as an “art dealer.”